


As The Children Suffer

by Guardian_of_Hope



Series: Huntress [5]
Category: Criminal Minds, Supernatural
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Magic, Mystery, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-18
Updated: 2013-07-08
Packaged: 2017-11-10 05:27:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/462682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_of_Hope/pseuds/Guardian_of_Hope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Team heads to Texas to find the unsub behind a mass grave. Derek learns more about Anna Campbell than he ever expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Back To Work

When Derek entered the BAU on a rainy Monday morning, he noticed four things. The first was that Elle Greenaway was still gone, had left the FBI entirely. The second was that Emily Prentiss was sitting at Elle's desk, reading a file. Third, there was a stranger standing in the middle of the bullpen. Lastly, Anna Campbell was facing down the stranger, hot pink and lime green umbrella dripping water into the garbage can beside her, and looking as if she'd never left the office.

"I know you're Laura Winchester," the stranger was saying in a threatening tone as he leaned towards Anna.

Never one to back away from a fight, Anna crossed her arms and tilted her head, "And I know that I don't know the first thing about what you are talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," the stranger snapped, stepping back, "You parade around here, acting like you don't have a criminal history."

"You're saying I shouldn't be here because I have that jaywalking charge from when I was sixteen?" Anna asked mockingly, "Or maybe you're talking about that speeding ticket I got when I was seventeen. I'm a real law breaker, are you going to arrest me for leaving home when I was eighteen and changing my name?"

The man stepped back again, "I know exactly who you are, and I know what your record should look like. It isn't that much different from your brothers, trespassing, assault, grave desecration."

"Considering that my official record is mostly clean," Anna said, "you really are stretching things a bit."

Derek fought to keep his face still, because this was Anna all over. Anna didn't toe the line, or cross the line, she obliterated it at will.

"Why do you insist on continuing with this deception?" The stranger demanded.

"Considering that we have yet to establish just what deception you claim I'm continuing," Anna said dryly, "I don't have an answer for that."

The stranger stared at the ceiling for a long moment, as if pleading to a distant god, "Those two you call your brothers aren't heroes, no matter what you've been told. They're murderers. They belong behind bars for the rest of their life, if they aren't given the death penalty. If you aren't actively helping them commit their crimes, then you're at least covering up for them. Which, in case you've forgotten, is against the law. It's called it being an accessory."

"I love your imagination," Anna said, "I really do. You could write a book, make a fortune, be the next JKR."

"You think this is a big joke?" The stranger demanded, "It's not going to be so funny when I get the warrants to unseal those records and prove you're helping them."

Anna stiffened, "Agent, may we speak in private."

Derek blinked, he'd never seen Anna go from sneering disrespect to a chilly politeness that quickly before. He'd suspected she could, given her military background and other lightning fast mood swings, but once Anna got the bit between her teeth, she tended to stick to blatant insolence for better or for worse.

"I think your team deserves the truth," the agent replied in a nasty tone of voice.

Derek stepped forward, opening his mouth to object. The movement behind the agent was Reid, jerking to his feet while Emily also started to stand, abandoning her folder.

Anna held up her hand without looking around, a clear signal for them to back off. Derek closed his mouth, but didn't step back. "You'd best rethink your attitude, Agent," she said flatly. "Not if you expect someone around here to give you a decent profile on the Winchesters."

"You think you can influence that?" The agent asked.

"I wouldn't dream of trying," Anna said. "However, the emotional response to seeing a friend and teammate being treated in the manner you have apparently decided is professional might dictate a less than ideal response to any request from you." She tossed her head a little, "You know, I'd love to know how you put together my record and came up with 'She's Laura Winchester'."

"So would I."

Morgan didn't jump, but he turned to find Marshal Andrew McCrae standing behind him. "Marshal," Morgan said quietly.

"Agent," McCrae replied with a nod, eyes focused on the agent.

"Agent Victor Henricksen," Anna said with glee, "meet Marshal Andrew McCrae."

"You can take this to my office," Gideon called. "I'm sure you need a bit more privacy than the middle of the bullpen." Morgan glanced up to find Gideon and Hotch had been watching from the balcony. It appeared that only J.J. and Garcia had missed the confrontation between Anna and Henricksen.

"Thank you, sir," McCrae said as he walked closer to Henricksen, "Agent Henricksen, I work with WitSec, and I have a few questions for you."

Henricksen was too dark skinned to actually go pale at McCrae's words, but he practically jumped to follow the Marshal up to Gideon's office. Anna watched them go without really moving.

Once the door was shut, Anna spun around and threw herself at Morgan, "My Goddess, but it's good to be back here. That one's been trying to contact me for the past week. I actually brought my panic button to work today because of him." She scowled, "I actually got a new one to carry because of him."

Morgan hugged her, "I'm glad you're back. Are you cleared for desk work or what?"

"Field work," Anna replied stepping back. "I'm one hundred percent healed. If it weren't for a few scars, you would never know I ever had that metal in me, much less that it nearly killed me."

"Really," Morgan said, impressed, "sounds like you were given a miracle."

Anna laughed bitterly, "I know exactly what happened, and that was no miracle." She turned, "Now then, before Agent Stick-Up-His-Butt interrupted, you were introducing yourself, I believe."

"I'm Emily Prentiss," Emily said. "I'm replacing Elle Greenaway on the team."

"Elle told me she had left," Anna said politely, "I've heard you were a good agent."

"Wait, she told you?" Morgan interrupted.

"Well, yeah," Anna said giving Morgan a whimsical smile, "We ran into each other in South Carolina a few weeks ago and she caught me up on all the gossip, especially the Fisher King debacle. This is why you shouldn't all go on vacation at the same time."

"Here's a question," Hotch said as he and Gideon walked over, "why didn't the Fisher King drag you into that mess."

"Because he couldn't find me," Anna replied. "Dean, Sam, and I were on the road as soon as the physical therapists cleared us to go. We weren't anywhere longer than a day or two." She glanced up at Gideon's office, with a pensive look on her face. "I'm going to go get some coffee before J.J. comes over to give us another case." She put her umbrella in the trashcan it had been dripping in and shed her overcoat.

Morgan watched her go for a moment, and then turned to Hotch, "Do you know what that was all about?"

Hotch regarded him for a moment, "Henricksen is assigned to track the Winchesters, a father and two sons who are suspected of being serial killers, amongst other things. I don't know who Laura Winchester is, or why Henricksen wants Anna to be this girl so badly."

"Guys," J.J. said, "we have a case."

"I'll go get Anna," Derek said, "I mean, she is cleared isn't she?"

"She is," Hotch said. He tilted his head a little, "I thought it would make a nice surprise."

"Yeah," Morgan agreed and headed for the break room.

Anna was standing by the coffee pot, coffee cup in hand and phone in the other, texting. "Hi Morgan," she said as he stood in the doorway.

"Anna," Morgan said, "we've got a case."

"Awesome," Anna said, and put her phone in her pocket. "Anything to get me away from that blowhard."

They headed up to the conference room where everyone was gathering. "Yesterday," J.J. said once Derek had closed the door, "A group of hikers down in Texas found a mass grave." She handed around the folders, "the bodies are in various stages of decomposition, indicating that they had been killed and dumped one at a time. They've asked for us to come down there and assist in finding the killer." J.J. pointed, "They believe the topmost victim died between four and six days ago, but they aren't sure yet."

"Where are we going then?" Anna asked.

"The bodies were found in the Sam Houston National Forest," J.J. replied, "the nearest town is Huntsville, Texas."


	2. Flying Out

"What do you think McCrae was telling Hendrickson?" Morgan asked as he buckled himself into a seat on the plane, "He sure looked angry."

"Does it matter?" Anna asked, not looking up from her copy of the case file, "Hendrickson is an idiot." She shifted a little as Reid and J.J. moved past her, but kept her eyes focused on the file.

"It's not like you could have told him anything," Morgan persisted, flipping open his own case file.

"Exactly why he's an idiot," Anna replied, not even looking up as the plane began to move. She flipped the file closed and turned towards Gideon, "What kind of killer creates a mass grave like this anyways?"

"There are several types," Gideon replied, looking at her over the top of his glasses. "We won't really know anything until some of the victims can be identified."

Anna shuddered a little, "This grave is going to smell, isn't it?" She glanced at her backpack with a touch of apprehension, "I wish I'd thought to pack some Fabreeze."

"Isn't that for cloth?" Reid asked from his spot next to Gideon.

"Air Effects," Anna replied, "deodorizes the air." She reopened the file, "I will never get over the smell of decomp."

"Do you see a lot of that?" Emily asked, glancing around the plane nervously.

"Enough," Anna replied absently. Derek kicked her lightly, because Emily looked a little green, "but I'm ex military." Anna grimaced dramatically in Emily's direction, "What is seen cannot be unseen these days." She paused for a moment, raised her eyebrows and tinted her head over, "Or smelled, for that matter."

"Anna," Derek continued to press, "why would Hendrickson be on your case, anyways? He's major crimes; usually those guys try to stay on our good side."

Anna glared at him for a brief moment, "Drop it, Morgan."

"I'm just worried about you," Derek replied, out of the corner of his eye; he noticed Hotch was staring at him rather intently.

Anna reached over and patted his arm, "That's sweet, Morgan. Really, it is. But you need to drop this, ok. Hendrickson's issues have nothing to do with this team."

"Can't I just be worried because I'm your friend?" Morgan asked her quietly.

Anna stood up as the seatbelt lights went off, "If you don't drop it, Morgan," she said sweetly, "I will destroy you; reputation, history, credit score, love life, all of it down the tubes. Then, I will feed you to this vampire I know. Maybe a few thousand years among the undead will teach you a few things." She slid away from the table and moved to sit beside Hotch, who said nothing as she settled down.

"Are things always this interesting?" Emily asked him.

Derek smiled at her, "That's just Anna. She's a little odd, but she's good at her job. Anna specializes in occult and the supernatural." He paused, glancing over at Anna, who was speaking quietly to Hotch. "I'll admit, she's never threatened to feed me to a vampire before either."

"Does she really believe in all of that?" Emily asked, "The occult and everything?"

Derek frowned a little, "I've never asked."

Emily nodded and glanced down at the file, "Why do you think the unsub is doing this?"

Derek shrugged a little, "We might not know his exact motives until we catch him." Derek shrugged, "even then we might never find out the truth. There are a lot of theories though. Reid could probably give you the statistics better than I can."

Emily didn't look at Reid, "I was hoping for the summary."

Derek chuckled, "Smart girl, the truth is, we don't know. That's why I said statistics."

"You think I don't know that," Anna exclaimed. She was leaning away from Hotch, looking shocked and outraged. "Of course they have questions; they've had questions since that bitch at the cabin called me Winchester. Here's the thing, Hotch, and it's the exact same problem it was the last time you confronted me like that. It's about trust."

"Morgan," Hotch began.

"The thing is," Anna said, "and no offense meant, Agent Prentiss, but if Elle were here, I probably would have told you. I'm trusting that you all think Agent Prentiss can do her job. I don't trust her, not yet. If, and that is if and not when I should decide to discuss the situation with Reid, Morgan or J.J., it will be done privately, in a one on one basis. I see no reason why I should tell a complete stranger my greatest secret just because she's an FBI Agent." She stood up and dropped down on the couch with a growl, "My ass, Hotchner, get off it. Just because McCrae felt he had to tell you, and you've probably discussed it with Gideon doesn't mean I want a complete stranger that I literally met not even six hours ago knowing about it just yet. My life, my choice. If you take that from me, I swear to my ever loving Goddess that I will make a phone call, turn you into a vampire, and hand you over to a fucking maniac."

"What is with you and vampires lately?" Derek asked.

"Let's just say I had a bad experience while I was away and leave it at that," Anna replied as she pulled her MP3 player out of her backpack.

The team fell into silence, broken only by occasional comments about the case, or idle observation. When the plane landed and they prepared themselves to head out, Anna touched Emily's arm, "I'm sorry," she said, "well, I'm not really, I was telling the truth. I was rude though. It's the biggest joke in the BAU though so, I don't like flying. At all." Turning, Anna followed J.J. off the plane.

Derek blinked, he hadn't thought once of Anna's long standing fear of flying. Before the accident, she had been so calm, he'd almost wondered if she'd gotten over it. It certainly put a new spin on her response in regard to the pressure they were putting on her. Derek shook his head a little, grabbed his bag and followed the others. Anna's eccentricities could be considered at a later date.

There were two men waiting for them outside, one, in a black suit, flashed an FBI badge while the other offered up a silver badge. "So you're a Texas Ranger," Anna said, "Don't you guys-"

Derek knocked over Anna in a fake stumble, "Sorry, Campbell," he said easily.

"Walk much?" Anna retorted as she picked herself up off the ground.

"Not very well," Derek replied smoothly.

"As I was saying," the Agent said to Hotch, "Ranger Garcia will take whoever you wish directly to the dump site, and I will bring the rest of you to our base of operations. We've made a preliminary ID of some of the newer victims."

"All right," Hotch said, "Morgan, Campbell, Prentiss, you'll be heading to the dump site with Gideon while Reid and J.J. will come with me and Agent Michaels. We'll go over the details later."

"Will you want to stop by your hotel room?" Ranger Garcia asked.

"Not at the moment, no," Derek said firmly.

"Don't worry, Garcia," Anna said with a smirk, "I'm wearing my big girl pants today. I'm not going to faint at the site of a couple of dead bodies."

"What she said," Emily added firmly.

Derek glanced over at Gideon, who was giving Anna an assessing glance which he then turned over to Derek. Whatever Anna had gone through since her father's death, something had changed. Something big. Derek only hoped they could get Anna back on her best behavior before she caused too much trouble with the LEOs on this case.


	3. Time For Pie

It was late when Derek, Anna, and Emily got back to the hotel. Derek was tired after spending hours hiking through the woods, and then following Anna through quizzing people associated with the victims at the Huntsville Police Station while Emily looked on. Not to mention the issues with the hotel, resolving in them settling into a slightly more questionable place than was normal.

After parking the SUV, Derek turned to wake up Emily but paused when he saw Anna looking between the hotel and a diner located between the hotel and the main road. It was a chain restaurant that was clearly open twenty four hours and intending to evoke an old fashioned diner in some ways.

"Anna?" Derek asked when Anna unbuckled her seatbelt.

Anna smiled at him, "I'm just hungry is all." She nodded to the diner, "Do you think Hotch would mind?"

"Let me send Emily up," Derek replied as his own stomach complained. Loudly.

"What?" Emily asked, jerking away from her door. She rubbed her cheek for a brief moment sleepily and muffled a yawn.

"Anna and I were going to get some food," Derek told her. "We're at the hotel."

"Oh," Emily said and yawned. "I think I'm going to just go to bed."

"All right," Derek said. "Are you going to find your room all right?"

Emily smiled a little, "I'm sure it won't be a problem. At least we shouldn't have to worry about bedbugs here."

He watched Emily head into the hotel before following Anna to the diner. The diner's parking lot was nearly deserted, Derek noted, and a glance through the building's large windows showed the restaurant was even emptier.

Suddenly, Anna stopped and muttered something. Derek heard enough to know his partner was swearing in Gaelic. "Are you ok?" Derek asked, reaching out to catch Anna's elbow.

"I just thought," Anna began, and then shook her head.

"What?" Derek persisted. Anna's hunches and insights were interesting, in some ways.

"There's just something about Doctor Ansel's assistant," Anna replied, "Something about her seemed really familiar." She frowned for a minute, "I can't quite put my finger on why she's so familiar, but I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough."

Thinking of the psychiatrist and his rather bossy assistant, Derek smiled at Anna, "I'm sure it will come back to you, Anna. You just need to eat something and get some sleep."

Anna chuckled as she moved out of Derek's grip, "Let's see if this place has pie, yeah?"

Derek dropped his hand and started to move forward, "I'm really looking for something..."

The world went dark before he could complete his thought.


	4. Awakening

This had to be the hardest bed Derek had ever experienced. Even when he’d been in college and woke up on the carpeted floor of the dorm room he hadn’t been this uncomfortable.

Someone, a girl by the sound of it, was cursing like a sailor.

Derek opened his mouth to comment, and got a mouth full of dirt. He began to cough.

“Easy Morgan,” the girl said, and a small, but firm hand rested on his shoulder. “Nice to see you’re awake.”

“Who,” Derek began and coughed again, “who are you?” He pushed himself up and rubbed his throat as he continued coughing.

“Just focus on breathing, Morgan,” the girl said. “I don’t think you’re going to believe what’s happened.”

Morgan worked into a sitting position and looked around. There wasn’t a lot of light, just enough to let him have an idea of how big the irregularly shaped room was. He glanced up and found that the light came through a wooden ceiling. “It’s a floor,” the girl said.

Morgan turned and blinked as the girl came out of the shadows. She looked to be about twelve, white, and blond. She was also naked, “What?” He asked and frowned, “What’s going on?” He coughed and rubbed his throat, wondering at why it was squeaking so much. “Who are you?” Why are you naked?

The girl sat down, “Morgan, it’s Anna.” She glanced up for a moment, “We have a big problem.”

“Anna?” Morgan said.

Something squealed, followed by footsteps. “I’ll explain later,” Anna said, drawing back to the edge of the room and look up.

A second squeak and a square of bright light fell into the room. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Lady Winchester,” a man drawled.

“Who are you?” The girl demanded.

“You don’t remember? How fascinating. Of course, I had a different face last time I met the Winchesters.”

The girl snarled. “Please tell me it’s not old Yellow Eyes?”

“Him?” The man laughed, “Sweetheart, he’s off chasing your brother. He doesn’t care about the self styled Huntress.”

“Then tell me who you are,” the girl said, “I like to know who I’m sending to Hell.”

“Oh dear, surely you’ll remember me in time. Now, I came out here to send down some supplies, so you’ll need to get out of the way.”

Derek grunted as an invisible hand grabbed him and slammed him into the wall. “Just out of curiosity, why did you guys pick Morgan?” The girl asked as she relaxed against the other wall. “It’s not like he’s family.”

“No, but he is an innocent. You Winchesters, all of you will walk through fire to save an innocent. It’s part of your charm.” The man replied as the light dimmed. Moments later, a basket came into view, being lowered on a rope.

“Derek Morgan, an innocent?” The girl laughed, “You really need to do your homework.”

The basket touched down and the rope was shaken loose, “Perhaps I’ll do that, Winchester.”

“While you’re at it, catch up with the times. It’s Anna Campbell these days.” The girl replied.

“To me, you’ll always be a Winchester,” the man replied and closed the hatch.

There was the sound of footsteps, the squeal of what had to be hinges, and then the invisible hand vanished. “Thanks for keeping quiet,” the girl said, moving quickly to the basket. “Oh, a lamp, that’s useful; food, liquid in a bottle, probably water. No clothes though.”

“Who are you?” Morgan demanded, ignoring the way his voice still squeaked.

“I told you,” the girl replied, “I’m Anna Campbell.” She messed with something from the basket and then a warm light filled the room, illuminating the dirt walls and floor. “Morgan, look down.”

Morgan looked down, confirming that he was also naked, and stared. Morgan wasn’t a gym rat, although he did work out to keep in shape for his job, he never considered himself a body builder. The body he now found himself looked far too much like his fourteen year old self than his nearly thirty year old self. “What?” He began and cleared his throat. “What happened to my body?”

“You’ve had your age reversed,” the girl replied.

“What, that’s impossible!” Derek said.

“No, it’s not,” the girl said firmly. “It happened, therefore, it’s not impossible. Improbable, yes, but not impossible.”

“How? How could someone do that, and why?”

“I don't know,” the girl snapped. “I don’t know who, how, or why. My best guess, given our friend up stairs, is that they went for me, and you just happened to be there. I don’t know why they would have gone after me either.”

“Who are you?” Derek demanded again.

“Do you need me to prove who I am?” The girl asked, standing up. “I’m Anna Campbell, on my first BAU case, I climbed into an unsub’s vehicle to take pictures and was captured and use as part of a Goddess summoning ritual. My second case, I was hit by a slow moving vehicle while pursuing an unsub, left the hospital before you came to get me and went to see Pearl Harbor. My last case with the BAU, I was in a car accident with my brothers and father, who died in the hospital of a heart attack. Do you need any more proof that I am Anna Campbell?”

“I must be dreaming,” Derek decided. “There’s no way this can be happening.”

The crack of flesh meeting flesh startled him almost as much as the pain in his neck and jaw from the slap Anna delivered. “Snap out of it Morgan. You’re a teenager again, same as I am. It happened, it’s real, and we need to reverse it. If you’re going to just sit here and freak out, then I will leave you in this hole, but if you think you can calm down and think rationally, I could really use your help.”

Derek took a deep breath and rubbed his cheek. He stared at the girl in front of him, this pale girl who looked fragile in a way that Anna Campbell never was. “I’ll help,” he managed, and winced as his voice broke. Again.

“I’m sorry,” Anna said, “I knew at some point you’d get involved in this, I just wanted to do it myself. I was sort of planning to take you with me on a hunt when we got back from this case.”

“Involved in what?” Derek asked.

“The supernatural,” Anna replied, “the real supernatural. Not just the fancy occult mumbo jumbo, but the monsters, and the witches, and,” she glanced up at the ceiling, “and the demons, that prey on people.”

“What do you mean demons?” Morgan repeated.

“Right, like our visitor,” Anna said, “I don't know who he was riding, but that was a demon that came to call; a demon who knows me, but that I don’t know. That worries me, because I remember the demons I deal with.”

“He called you Laura Winchester,” Morgan said, “that’s the name that Agent Hendrickson used. You told Hendrickson you didn’t know what he was talking about.”

“I didn’t,” Anna replied, “I don’t know how he knows I’m Laura Winchester.”

“I don’t understand,” Morgan muttered.

Anna smiled at him and stood, “Let’s not worry about it, then. I’ll explain the full story later. For now, that demon has made a bit of a mistake, and we can capitalize on it.”

“What mistake?” Morgan asked.

“He showed us where the exit is,” Anna replied. She picked up the basket and moved it against one wall, along with the lamp. “I don’t think he’s planning to come back for a while, given the amount of food we have.”

“Anna, unless you have the power to fly, I don’t think we’re going to reach that,” Derek said.

“Depends,” Anna replied, “how strong are you?”

What followed could have been called a comedy of errors as Derek and Anna struggled to find a way for Derek to hold Anna up long enough to get the hatch open. The winning position was to have Derek wrap one arm around Anna’s calves with the other under her feet with his face framed by Anna’s knees as she rested her weight on his shoulders.

After a squeak from the hatch hinges, and a thump, Anna said, “Ok, you can let go now, and then give my feet a boost. I’ll find that rope and drop it down for you.”

“Ok,” Derek grunted. He pushed her up and she slithered out easily.

“They must not do two people at a time all that often,” Anna commented as she moved around upstairs.

“Why do you say that?” Derek asked.

“Look how easily I got out,” Anna replied, “move please.” Derek stepped back and an actual wood and rope ladder dropped through the hole. “I think that demon’s involved in the mass grave. You’ll understand when you get up here.”

Derek scrambled up the ladder quickly and looked around.

They were in a one room building, almost like a shed. On one wall were shelves, filled with plastic containers. Anna had one opened, looking grim. “What did you find?” Derek asked as he stood up.

Anna handed him a wallet.

Derek looked at the ID and hissed, “That’s one of the victims.”

Anna nodded. “Like I said, I don’t think they bring more than one person here. It was too easy to get out of that hole with both of us.” She flipped open another box and looked inside, “Here, it’s our stuff.”

“Great,” Derek said.

The clothes didn’t fit, exactly, but wearing his jeans and t-shirt left Derek feeling a lot more comfortable. Anna, finding her jeans too long, found a knife in their box and promptly turned her jeans into a pair of cutoffs. “Want me to shorten yours?” She offered Derek.

“Um, no,” Derek replied.

“You look like you’re trying to be a gangster, but missed the memo on sagging,” Anna said. “It’s just a little bit ridiculous.”

“Two hundred dollar jeans,” Derek countered.

“Fine,” Anna said. The knife vanished, “Our shoes won’t fit.” She glanced down, “Well, yours might.”

They dug through the box for a few minutes and Anna produced her laptop with a grin. “This, we can actually use.”

“How?” Derek asked.

“As soon as I can connect to the internet, I can start asking questions.” Anna replied as she put the laptop in her backpack.

“Who would you ask?” Derek asked.

“Bobby,” Anna said, “Sam and Dean, my friend Ellen.” She paused, “Ok, probably not Sam and Dean, but Bobby and Ellen definitely.”

“Anna,” Derek said, “I’m lost here. You clearly have something in mind, care to fill me in?”

“Sure,” Anna said, “that’s easy. See, the way I figure it, the witch that did this to us, she or he is related to the unsub in the BAU case. That means the team will track the witch down. That demon, though, that’s who I’m worried about. Demons possess humans, just like in the Bible. On their own, they’re nothing but a fart, but when they get a hold of someone, they’ll ride them hard and leave them for dead.”

“A fart?” Derek asked.

“Bad smell and gas,” Anna replied, “although technically the smell is sulfur.” She held up her gun for a long moment, contemplating it. “We’d have to exorcise the demon to get it back to hell, but there’s no guarantee the meat suit he’s riding will survive.”

Derek bit his lip as Anna put the gun back in the box.

“Sounds cold, I know,” Anna said quietly, “but the truth is, I’ve never saved a possession victim. The demons, they keep bodies going through anything, but when you drive them out, the damage is still there, it doesn’t heal. I think Ellen saved someone once, got the demon out within hours of the possession and all, but that’s rare. Thinking about it will just drive you crazy.”

The demon had said that the Winchesters would walk through fire to save an innocent. Derek wondered how many people Anna lost. He reached out and gently rested his hand on her oversized blouse, trying to think of something to say.

Anna slid out from under his hand, “Ok, so, what’s missing? My salt, my cold iron, my blessed lead, everything but my sharpie.”

“What does salt do?” Derek asked as Anna stood up with her marker and a piece of paper.

“Salt purifies, and it acts like a barrier.” Anna replied as she walked over to the door and knelt. “Ghosts, demons, a lot of creatures can’t get past it. If you ever think you’ve got a supernatural problem, putting a salt line down will keep you safe. Doors, windows, and chimneys usually are enough, although putting a line down against the walls helps. Same with cold iron, they can’t touch it. That’s why I carry table salt and a crowbar with me.”

“You said blessed lead,” Derek commented.

“I like to cover my bases,” Anna replied as she stood back up. “That won’t do much,” she pointed to the paper, “but it might give us a little time.”

“A pentagram?” Derek asked.

“Devil’s trap,” Anna said, heading for the hole in the floor. “Sounds like what it is, Demon touches that, and they can’t get away. Useful during an exorcism.”

“What else do you carry with you?” Derek asked as Anna sat down beside the hole.

“Silver,” Anna replied, “I’ll be right back.” She vanished into the cellar and Derek turned back to the box. Like Anna, he left his gun in there, but he did collect his wallet and his badge.

“Some creatures can take iron and salt,” Anna said, “but not silver. Shapechanger, werewolf, couple of others. Having a silver blade and some bullets comes in handy.” She scrambled out of the hole and took two water bottles out of her pockets.

“Werewolves,” Derek repeated.

“I don’t have time to go through the whole encyclopedia,” Anna snapped, “just assume for now that if a legend says it kills people, it exists.” She picked up her backpack and rummaged inside for a moment before coming up with a rosary. She looked up at Derek and wrinkled her nose slightly, “Christian demons have a weakness that can help us.” She held up the bottles of water, “And it’s the demon’s second mistake.” She wrapped the rosary around the water bottles, “He gave me water and didn’t even think. I don’t necessarily need the rosary, it just makes it stronger.” Taking a deep breath, she began to chant in Latin.

Derek headed over to the single window in the cabin and looked out. The cabin appeared to be surrounded by forests, but he could also see a dirt road that vanished into the trees.

The chanting stopped abruptly, “There we go,” Anna said.

Derek turned to find Anna offering him a bottle, “What?” He asked.

“Take a drink,” Anna replied firmly.

Derek took the bottle and stared at it, “What did you do?”

“Drink first,” Anna said.

Derek took a swallow of the water.

Anna’s shoulders slumped and she smiled brightly, “Thank you. I’m sorry, but I had to be sure.”

“Sure of what?” Derek asked, putting the lid on the bottle.

“I’m protected, but I had to be sure you weren’t possessed,” Anna replied, taking the bottle from him. “This is holy water now. Demons can abide the touch of it, it’s like acid to them.”

“You’re protected?” Derek repeated.

“You didn’t see my tattoo?” Anna asked, “It was on my hip.”

“Honestly,” Derek said, “I was trying not to stare at the naked twelve year old. I’m not a pervert.”

“And I’m not twelve, I’m thirteen,” Anna retorted. “I’ve got breasts, which didn’t develop until after my thirteenth birthday.”

“TMI,” Derek muttered.

“Sorry,” Anna said. “About the plan, I don’t have much of one. It mostly consists of, find and deal with the demon, then worry about the witch. A spell like this, to make us kids, it probably isn’t permanent. Either it’ll wear off eventually or if the witch is killed, it will go away then. It’s happened before.”

“You said once that Sam was turned into a girl,” Derek said as he remembered.

“It was a bad week,” Anna said, “and Dean has a ton of pictures. That’s why I’d rather not call them. Bobby and Ellen will be much more sensible about the whole thing. First of all, we need the internet. And food.”

“There’s a dirt road outside,” Derek offered.

“Let’s start walking.” Anna replied, settling her backpack and adjusting the straps.

 


	5. Around Town

"I take it you've heard," Gideon said as Hotch entered the police station.

"About Anna and Morgan?" Hotch asked.

"The employees at the diner all agree," Gideon said, "They came in, had a meal, and left. The waitress remembers them because Anna had three slices of pie as well as her meal and left a big tip. They're on the security cameras leaving the restaurant, and then they vanish. The only thing we've found in the parking lot is one of Anna's notebooks. This time, the notes are in English and not connected to the case."

The two exchanged amused glances, remembering another notebook, written in a code they couldn't crack with the identity of a murder inside it.

"We've checked the hospital, the morgue, the county jail, and the city police are keeping an eye out," Gideon continued.

"Derek wouldn't just vanish," Hotch said, "and he's been the one who moderates Anna's lone wolf tendencies."

"I know," Gideon began, stopping as his phone rang. "Agent Gideon," he said.

"Gideon, this is David Rossi."

"Rossi," Gideon said, as much for Hotch as to acknowledge the man, "How can I help you?"

"I just received an email from Anna, asking me to call you." Rossi replied, "What's going on?"

"Anna and another Agent are missing." Gideon replied as he switched his cell phone to speaker and grabbed some paper, "What did she tell you?"

"She said to tell you that Derek is fine, but they're in trouble. She also says she knows how the unsub could subdue and hold anyone before killing them. She wasn't sure if she could send any more messages, but that she'd do what she could."

"Can you forward me that email?" Gideon asked quickly.

"I just need your email address," Rossi replied. "Whatever Anna's found, whoever you're chasing, they must not have expected an ex-marine like Anna."

Gideon gave Rossi the information and hung up. "Get me a copy of that email," Hotch told Gideon, "in the meantime, we have another case to solve."

"You know we'll have to do something about Anna," Gideon said as he sat down at the computer that had been made available to them.

"I'm already working on it," Hotch replied.

"Working on what?" Reid asked as he came in the room, "Have either of you seen Morgan?"

"He's with Anna," Hotch replied, "have you heard from Garcia about our victims yet?"

"No," Reid replied, "I thought she was going to call Morgan."

Hotch and Gideon exchanged looks, once Garcia realized that Morgan was unavailable, it was likely that things would go downhill from there. Gideon turned to Reid, "Call Garcia and get started on the victims, don't worry about Morgan, he's doing something else."

"All right," Reid said carefully and walked away.

"We can't keep this from them," Hotch said quietly.

"Not for long," Gideon agreed, "just long enough. Whatever happened to Anna and Derek, we need to buy them a little time. I'll get that email and see what Anna had to say."

Hotch nodded and picked up one of the crime scene photos.

/…\\\\\

"I'm hot," Anna announced as they walked.

"You said that already," Derek told her.

Anna glanced at her partner for a moment, "You're taking this rather well. I honestly thought it would take a demon possession to get you to accept anything."

"It's not like I have much choice," Derek replied, "believe me, I'll panic later."

"Right," Anna said.

The pair had found themselves in a shed just outside of the city proper, and had walked into town as quickly as they were able. Dressed in clothes far too large, but armed with the cash from their wallets, Anna had quickly located a second hand store where they could get some better fitting clothes. Then they'd followed the signs back to the tiny city library where Anna had wrangled access to a computer long enough to send an email out. Then, to avoid the suspicious looks of the librarian, they had left again.

Anna was starting to feel hungry, and as she looked around, she had to smile, "Look, Taco Bell."

"So not healthy," Derek muttered as Anna checked for traffic, "and we should go back to that traffic light and cross there."

Anna frowned at him for a moment, and then nodded, "All right."

They headed back to the last crosswalk and Anna hit the button, knocking Derek's hand away, "I can do it," she told him.

"Well yeah," Derek said, and Anna glanced pointedly behind him at a pair of young adults who were walking over.

"It's not like I need you to hold my hand," Anna continued, whining a little.

Derek slid a glance up as the two stopped near them and said, "Hey, I know you can walk to Taco Bell on your own, but you know my mom. Overprotective is putting it mildly."

"It's not like my dad's going to care," Anna said, crossing her arms and pouting, "He's on another one of his businesses trips. Besides, your mom's pretty cool. She didn't make us take Sammy."

The light changed and Derek headed out, "Thank God for that, Sammy can be a brat."

Anna pushed him, "Hey, I get to make fun of my little brother, you do not. It's in the big sister handbook."

They reached the other side of the street and Anna turned backwards to look at Derek as the other two headed away. "Sorry," Derek said, "didn't mean to insult Sammy."

Anna grinned, "It's ok. He's a whiney little brat. They're out of ear shot now. Good job on the uptake, I was a little nervous you wouldn't catch on."

"It wasn't that hard," Derek replied.

They finished the walk to Taco Bell and headed up the sidewalk. As they did so, a patrol car pulled into the parking lot. "Don't act suspicious," Anna said, grinning up at Derek, "So, your mother is awesome. I can't believe she's homeschooling you."

Derek shrugged, "Mom says that public school is a waste of time, you never learn anything important."

"I know," Anna agreed as she opened the restaurant door. "I'm never going to use algebra once I graduate, but I might need to know how to balance a checkbook. I wish we'd stay in one place, make it practical for us to be homeschooled."

"Maybe your dad's new job will work out," Derek offered.

Anna sighed, "Maybe." She smiled brightly at the lady behind the counter, "Can I get one of those two dollar meals, the burrito one."

"A number four, beefy five layer burrito?" The lady asked.

"Yeah, that one," Anna said brightly.

"I'll take a number two deal," Derek added.

"All right," The lady replied.

The door opened and a large, white cop stepped in, he looked around the restaurant and then focused on Derek. Anna watched him as Derek handled paying for their meals. When he stepped over, she stepped up, "Hi," she said with a bright smile.

"Hello," the officer said, stopping short.

"So," Anna said, "I heard that the FBI was in town." She tucked her hands behind her back and rocked up on her toes, "Is that true? I want to be an FBI Agent when I'm older."

"Did you ever think about being a police officer?" The officer asked.

Anna shrugged, "Kind of, but a police officer, they only live in one town. The FBI can be anywhere. I like traveling, it's so much fun. It's nice to have a place to come home to, but getting to see all sorts of places is really cool, don't you think?"

"That's true," the officer said.

"Besides, if I was an FBI agent, I could help a lot of people everywhere. I'd really help stop the big monsters." Anna gave him a winsome smile, "My daddy used to be a Marine, which I think would be really cool to, but he's not no more. He had to leave the Marines because Mommy died and he had to take care of me and my brothers."

"Anna," Derek said.

Anna turned and took the cup Derek was holding out to her, and then turned back to the officer, "This is my friend Derek, his mom is looking after us because Daddy had to go away on business. Mrs. Richmond is so nice, she makes some of the best cornbread I've ever had. And Derek's like a big brother, I mean, he's not much older than Dean and I are, but he's awesome."

"Number fifty-two," the lady behind the counter said.

Anna glanced over and saw Derek picking up a tray of food, "I guess that's us. Anyways, is it true? Are there really FBI agents? Do you think they'll talk to the schools? That would be so cool; I always wanted to meet a real FBI agent."

The officer coughed, "I don't know, Miss. That would be up to the FBI agents what they're going to do."

"Ok," Anna said, "thank you." She turned and hurried over to the drink area where Derek was filling his cup.

By the time they were seated in the front of the restaurant, the officer was gone. "What was that all about?" Derek asked.

"I just had a bad feeling," Anna said. "He had the weirdest look on his face."

Derek looked at her for a moment, "We need to discuss how we're going to handle things."

"Not here though," Anna said, "there was a park back up the road. Plenty of private places in there, I'd imagine."


	6. Best Laid Plans

Derek and Anna settled into the small park they’d found, choosing to sit in a small gazebo that leant itself to a sense of privacy. “All right,” Derek said, “what do you think happened to us?”

Anna swallowed her bite of burrito, “Well, there may be some other options, I don’t have the research to check, but our most likely culprit is a witch.”

“Like Harry Potter?” Derek asked.

“No,” Anna shook her head, “more like legend and lore. A witch is a person, not necessarily a woman, who has traded their soul to a demon for power. They’ll live their life, working their magic as they choose, and when they die, they go to Hell. If I misremember properly, they actually become demons themselves.”

“Ok,” Derek said, “and a witch could turn us into our younger selves?”

“Yes,” Anna replied, “I’ve heard of it, and there was that time Sammy got turned into a girl by a witch.”

“A girl?” Derek repeated with disbelief.

“I have pictures,” Anna agreed.

“How do we break the spell anyways?” Derek asked.

“That’s the tricky part,” Anna said, “I don’t know what kind of spell that our witch used, but I’ve never heard of a spell surviving the witch that cast it. Some spells only last for a select period, twenty-four hours, a week, a month, others need a specific ritual to break. We’ve not been given an object to carry, I checked, so it’s not a cursed object that would need to be destroyed.”

“How do you remember all of this?” Derek asked when Anna trailed off to eat some of her chips.

Anna shrugged, “Some of it, we lived through, some of it we learned while looking for other solutions and some of it, I learned on my own out of curiosity.”

“Curiosity?” Derek said.

“I wanted to know if true witchcraft could come from a source other than demon deals. There aren’t, by the way. It made wanting to be a Wiccan very difficult to follow through on.” Anna shrugged and finished her burrito. “Seriously though, I hate to tell you this, but our best bet would be if the witch died. Unfortunately, that’s not something we can pull off easily. I also want that demon,” She frowned for a moment, “and I can’t remember where I might have met that one before. I suspect I may not have actually met the black-eyed bastard, just someone he’s dealt with.”

Derek stared at Anna for a long moment, “We’re going to need to talk about your casual acceptance of killing someone.”

“Not right now,” Anna replied, “I’m more concerned about that demon.”

Derek hummed for a moment as he finished his drink, “So tell me about demons.”

“I don’t know that much, demons were never really my strong suit before, but I’ve been getting a crash course over the past two years.” Anna dumped her trash in her food bag. “I guess I should start with my personal experiences with demons, and that has to do with my mom.” She closed her eyes, “I was born Laura Winchester, yes. There were many reasons why I _legally_ changed my name to Anna Campbell, but I won’t get into that now. My mother’s name was Mary Winchester nee Campbell and my father was John Winchester. When I was four years old, my mother died in what has officially been labeled an electrical fire that started in Sam’s nursery. The truth is that my mother surprised a demon named Azazel and he killed her. Azazel would later be responsible for the death of Sam’s girlfriend Jessica, and for the death of our father John.” Anna stood up and began to pace slowly, “Jessica died in a manner similar to my mother, and Dad, he made a deal with Azazel, or old Yellow Eyes as we call him, to save Dean and I in the hospital. He didn’t have a heart attack, part of his Deal was that he would die after he got a chance to tell us good bye.”  Anna paused and rubbed her cheek for a moment, Derek was surprised to realize the tough woman had been crying. “I’ve done a few possessions over the years, there were some other hunts, but since I specialize in rituals instead of my brothers’ jack of all trades style, possessions aren’t something I have a lot of experience with.”

Derek nodded, “How do you kill a demon then?”

“You use the Colt,” Anna replied, “or a demon killing blade. Neither of which I have, honestly. I’d call Sam and Dean but Dean will never let me live this down and it could take them days to get here. Usually, we deal with demons with an exorcism. It might kill the person, but it kicks the demon back to Hell in the bargain.”

“How do you exorcise a demon?” Derek persisted.

“You use Latin,” Anna said, “it’s a bit like The Exorcist only with less pea soup. Uncle Bobby says that using a devil’s trap keeps the demon from escaping or using its powers on us. He also said we should try putting the devil’s trap on the ceiling because then you can trick the demon into walking into the trap and it can’t get out.”

“Only problem I see,” Derek replied, “is that we don’t have a roof.”

“We also don’t really know who the demon’s riding either,” Anna said. “Demons can change bodies the way you and I change clothes.”

///…\\\\\

Hotch jumped as Gideon dropped a bag on the conference table, “Dinner, Aaron. Also, have you noticed we haven’t heard from Anna’s brothers yet?”

“Think she’s contacted them?” Hotch asked as he reached for the bag.

“I don’t know,” Gideon replied. “Have you seen the latest from the coroner?”

“All of the victims so far have been accused of hurting children,” Hotch replied, “none of them have served the maximum sentence for their crimes.”

“You’re thinking that it’s a vigilante?” Gideon said.

“It’s the only connection we have so far,” Hotch said, “and it makes sense. That means our unsub has a connection to those cases.”

“So we check the court records, see who might be connected.” Gideon replied. “I’ll put Reid and Prentiss on that. J.J.’s been dealing with the locals rather well, considering how many different agencies want a finger in the pie.” The two of them exchanged a look in commiseration at their own troubles with multiple agencies on a single case. “J.J. is suspicious about Anna and Morgan’s disappearance. They need to focus on the case and not our missing colleagues.”

“We’ll have to make a statement soon,” Hotch said, “let them know something.”

Hotch opened the bag and began to dish out the food that Gideon had brought. “Maybe Anna will be able to contact us again. If she does, she has to know we’re willing to help her in any way we can.”

The door to the conference room slammed open and Reid almost stumbled in, “Hotch, Gideon, you have to come see this. It’s Anna’s brothers on TV.”

Dinner was abandoned as the two headed out to watch the news as Dean and Sam apparently helped rob a bank.


	7. The Return

Anna regarded the dirt hole they’d been dropped in with a smirk, “You’re sure this will work?” Derek asked.

“Positive,” Anna replied as she closed the door. “He won’t know we’re out until he comes in here, and he’ll walk straight into the devil’s trap.”

“And how do you propose we get him to come back here?” Derek said. He was sitting with his back to the door, staring at Anna.

“We make the witch suspicious,” Anna replied. “I figure that she’s involved with the case in some way, and by presenting her with the thought that you and I have escaped, then she’ll contact the demon.”

“But if we make her suspicious,” Derek replied, “wouldn’t that mean that we’re scaring her off the case? We do want to catch her, remember? She’s killed a lot of people. And we don’t know that she’s involved with the case.”

Anna frowned at him for a moment then cocked her head, “Vehicle’s coming. Get away from the door.”

///…\\\\\

 

Hotch regarded the email that Anna had sent him, it was short and to the point.

_Hotch,_

_Two unsubs are involved. Derek and I will take care of the muscle easily. Yes, we’ll try to take him alive. We don’t know who the brain of the op is, but I suspect it’s someone connected to the case. Thanks for the case update, we needed that to confirm a few things. It’s possible that the muscle is coerced. We’ll be back in Huntsville soon; probably as soon as we figure out where we are. One tree looks like every other tree around here._

_A. Campbell_

“We need to talk to the team,” he told Gideon and handed over the print out. He pinched the bridge of his nose briefly, it was almost midnight and he was tired. There had been no new information beyond some victim identification in hours and he was about ready to head back to the hotel.

“Talk to the team about what?”

Hotch and Gideon turned to find Derek standing in the door to the conference room. He was wearing the same clothes he’d disappeared in, but they had been torn and ripped. It was difficult to tell, but Hotch thought he saw the beginnings of a black eye as well. He held himself stiffly, with his left arm tucked in close to his side. “Agent Morgan,” Gideon said.

Derek straightened up, “Agent Hotchner, Agent Gideon, may I please get off babysitting Anna duty. I don’t know what I did wrong, but I’d like to live to see thirty-five if possible.”

“What happened to you?” Hotch asked.

“Sit down,” Gideon added.

Derek limped to the table and carefully eased himself into a chair. “Truth is, I look better than the other guy. Anna drove him on to the hospital. She asked that you send someone over to keep an eye on the guy, but since we believe he was forced into things, he shouldn’t be too great a flight risk.”

“As soon as you tell us what happened,” Gideon said.

Derek sighed, “Anna and I were hungry, and so we went to that Denny’s in the parking lot. As we were heading back to the hotel something happened. I remember leaving the restaurant, and then nothing until we woke up. We were in an earthen pit, completely naked. The ceiling was well over ten feet, with a trap door. A man showed up, but I couldn’t get a clear look at him. He lowered some supplies and left after telling Anna that he knew her. Anna says she doesn’t remember him, but that he might be associated with someone she knew once. After we heard the man leave the room above us, Anna had me boost her up to the trap door. She found a rope to help me get out. We found ourselves in a one room cabin. There were shelves on one wall filled with storage bins. In one of those bins, we found our clothes. From the contents of the other bins, we thought that they might belong to the victims in the murder case. The cabin was set back in a wooded area, and the one marked path led to a house. That’s where Anna found a computer to send you the emails. The house was deserted, but furnished and with perishable foods in the fridge.”

He shifted slightly and winced, “Sorry. We didn’t see an actual road from the house, nor was there a street, so Anna and I opted to wait for our captor to return. We found these photos, the guy we’d seen holding us, he had a family. Anna thinks he might have been coerced with threats to his family. Then Anna thought we could email you and ask if we could look over the case files since we were essentially trapped at the house. She has a theory about the shrink’s assistant, but you’ll have to ask her. Our captor returned to the house a few hours ago, right after Anna sent that email, and we had an altercation. There was at least one flight of stairs involved. I was knocked out after that, and woke up while Anna was putting the man in the back of his truck. She was banged up, but the guy, he was injured worse. Anna dropped me off here and took him on to the hospital.”

“You should have gone with her,” Hotch said, crossing his arms.

Derek sighed, “I said you needed to know what happened. I think Anna expected you to bring me to the hospital after I told you what happened.”

“She’s right,” Hotch said as Gideon came back in the room. “We need to take Derek to the hospital.”

“There’s a uniformed officer on his way over to Huntsville Memorial. How badly was Anna hurt?”

“It looked like cuts and bruises,” Derek said, “She wasn’t favoring anything. She said he knocked her into a wall. Whatever he did, she was mad.” He shifted and dug into his pocket for a moment and produced a tape which he slid onto the table. “We found a tape recorder in the house, Anna used it while we were subduing the man, hopefully there’s something useful on it.”

“Let’s get you to the hospital,” Hotch said, “we’ll worry about your tape later.”

“Yes Hotch,” Derek said. He glanced up as Gideon slid his hand under Derek’s elbow.

Anna was waiting for them at the hospital with a butterfly bandage over her right eye, a swollen lip, and a weirdly determined glint in her eye. “Did you pick up that bitch?” She asked as Gideon helped Derek out of the SUV.

“The who?” Hotch asked.

“The head shrinker’s assistant,” Anna replied, she looked at Derek, “didn’t you tell them?”

“I,” Derek began, and frowned, “what assistant?”

Anna swore, and stared at the three of them, “Has anyone, at any time, spoken to the assistant?”

“We questioned her;” Hotch said slowly, “Gideon, you talked to her didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Gideon nodded, “she was very nice.”

Anna darted forward and swiped the keys from Hotch’s hand. “I have to see something at the station. I’ll be back in half an hour. Ask me about the assistant when I get back. If I don’t remember, ask the chick at the nurse’s desk for my journal. Fucking witches.”


	8. The Grunt

Anna showed back up about thirty minutes later, looking angry, "So, there's nothing I could find on the assistant, and I don't have my phone so I can't just ask Garcia what she can tell me. Seriously, how can there not be anything on this one person. There was information on one of their mailmen.  _Their mailman_  Hotch, what the hell?"

"I do not know what to tell you," Hotch said, glancing at Gideon. "I can't imagine that we didn't ask. I'll call Garcia."

"You are going to get checked over," Gideon added, "those bruises."

"Are just bruises," Anna replied with a shrug, she eyed the two men, "If you can find a way to suggest that Derek and I weren't taken hostage, I'll get checked over."

"Are you bribing us?" Gideon asked.

Anna grinned at him, "I'm strongly suggesting that you don't tar Derek with my brush. He doesn't deserve to get in trouble when the whole thing was because of me." She crossed her arms, "It's not my fault we got taken hostage, that's all on that, that witch, but she did it because she thinks I can recognize something about her."

"Can you?" Hotch asked.

"Maybe if I got a good look at her," Anna replied, "I just have this feeling that I'll know what this was all about when I see her again. Anyways, if I throw in not complaining about the lack of information on the assistant?"

"We'll see," Hotch said, "but you need to get yourself checked out."

"Yes sir," Anna said, "let me know what you find out about the assistant?"

"If nothing else, you can read the reports," Gideon said.

The door to the ER opened and a nurse stepped out, "Agent Gideon, he's awake."

"Thank you," Gideon said, "can you have someone check on Agent Campbell, please. Just make sure that all she has are bruises."

"That won't be a problem," the nurse said, "if you'll come with me, Agent Campbell."

Anna rolled her eyes, but followed the nurse.

Hotch and Gideon hurried up to the room where their suspect awaited.

According to Garcia, Matthew Johnson was a former football player at the local university who had started working for the state criminal justice system after he got his girlfriend pregnant ten years in the past. He had married the girl, and they had a three children. Johnson had no history of trouble, and had a good reputation with his friends and coworkers from what they'd learned so far.

"Mister Johnson," Hotch said as they entered the hospital room where Johnson waited. "I am Supervisory Special Agent Hotchner, this is SSA Gideon, we're with the FBI and we have a few questions to ask you."

"May I ask what happened to me?" Johnson asked.

"What do you remember?" Hotch asked.

"I'd just gotten home from work," Johnson said, "my wife, Amber, was taking the girls to their grandparents for the weekend, so nobody was home. I was walking up to the door when I saw this black smoke, and it smelled really bad, like rotten eggs. After that, I don't know. It's like flashes, people, a woman, two kids, and there was something, like I was possessed or something.  _What happened to me?_ "

Hotch looked at Gideon, "Mister Johnson, you're currently under arrest for assaulting and detaining two federal agents, and you're under suspicion for murder."

"What? I didn't do that," Johnson replied, looking at both of them in confusion, "I swear, whatever it was, I didn't do it."

"The two federal agents brought you to the hospital after they subdued you, Mister Johnson," Gideon told him. "They both say that you were involved in their assault and detainment."

"I'm telling you, it wasn't me," Johnson insisted.

Gideon sighed, and someone knocked on the open door, "Hey Gideon, Hotch," Derek said as he stepped in the room.

"Everything all right?" Gideon asked.

"I'm fine," Derek said, "just some interesting bruises in unmentionable places. The doc just discharged me, and from the lack of swearing from Anna, she's probably going to be out soon too."

"All right," Gideon said.

"There will be a police officer who will take your statement, Mister Johnson," Hotch said, "I suggest you be more forthcoming with him."

Gideon led the way out of the room, and down the hall, "What will happen to him?" Derek asked.

"If he sticks to his story," Hotch said, "he'll probably end up in a mental institution. He claims he was possessed."

Derek glanced over his shoulder with a frown.

"There you guys are," Anna said, bouncing down the hall with a piece of paper, "I'm cleared to go, Hotch. Now what?"

"Now we go back and find our unsub," Hotch replied, "and we'll start by looking at that assistant."


	9. Confrontation

The Huntsville police station was buzzing when Anna and the others returned, partially from whatever daily incidents had come up, but also from the phone calls that Gideon and Hotch had been placing since they had left the hospital twenty minutes before.  Needless to say, Anna was not going to make any more jokes about Huntsville traffic now that she had seen it up close and personal.  Reid, J.J. and Emily were in the conference room going over the case, but abandoned the files and maps when Anna swept in.  “I’m back,” she announced, “Did you miss us?”

“Where were you?”  J.J. asked as she stood up.

“Rumor says we were abducted,” Anna replied with a shrug.  She picked up one of the printouts about the victims, “Let’s go with that.”

“Rumor?”  Derek protested.

“We weren’t rescued,” Anna replied, “we returned on our own, therefore, we were not abducted.  We could have just had a really long coffee break.”  Anna glanced at Hotch, who was talking to someone on the phone, from the way his eyes darted around the room, she suspected it was Garcia.

“If that’s what you want to call it,” Derek said.

“You really want to say whether or not we spent the better part of three days naked in a hole?”  Anna retorted.

“A really long coffee break sounds fine to me,” Derek said as he leaned over to look at a different file.

Anna smirked, then picked up a paper with a photo attached, “Derek, look familiar?”

Derek studied the picture, “I think so.”

Anna nodded and showed the photo to Hotch, “There were several boxes in the shed where we were held.  There were wallets and other personal belonging in those boxes.  I saw this one in there, or rather; I saw her driver’s license in what was probably her purse.”

“And where was this shed?”  Hotch asked.

“Two hundred feet back from what his face’s house,” Anna said, “there was an ATV path and a driveway.  Lots of trees.”

“It might have been further back than that,” Derek said, “the driveway swung around Johnson’s place.”

“ATV path was more direct,” Anna replied, “given the terrain, it was almost a straight line.”

There was a knock on the door and a familiar cop stuck his head in the room, “Agent Hotchner, Ms. Newburg is here and she wishes to speak with you.”

Anna knew her smile was dangerous as Hotch straightened, “Let her in, please, Officer Clark.”

As the man turned away, Anna realized she had seen the man at the Taco Bell in her disguise as an eager teenager.  She glanced over at Derek and saw the same recognition.  Anna edged over to Reid, “What do you know about Clark?”  She asked him quietly.

“He’s been very helpful,” Reid replied.

“How helpful?”  Anna asked, still struck by how _wrong_ the man seemed.

“He’s been easy to talk to, knows quite a bit about the area.”  Reid replied, “Also, he has a bit of a sweet tooth.”

Anna hummed softly, tilting her head as Clarke returned with a woman Anna easily recognized as the psychiatrist’s assistant.  She was a slender woman of average height, not necessary beautiful, but modestly pretty in her tan slacks and teal blouse.  “Ms. Newberg,” Gideon said, stepping forward, “is there something we can help you with?”

The woman blushed, “I don’t mean to intrude, it’s just that Doctor Ansel wanted to make sure it would be ok for him to continue accepting new clients.”

Anna picked up one of the folders and took a seat at the table, studying the woman over the top of the file as covertly as she could manage.

“There shouldn’t be a problem,” Gideon said.

Newberg nodded, “Thank you.  Those children, there are so many that need help.”  She reached up to brush some of her shoulder length brown hair behind her ear.

Anna’s eyes narrowed; Newberg wore a bracelet with a pyramid, inside of which was a pink crystal.  There were other charms, it was one of those coexist bracelets with different religious symbols, but the 3D pyramid was particularly eye catching, especially when someone had seen it before.  Anna would probably have forgotten the last time she had seen the pyramid and crystal combination except for what it had stood for.  People, mostly women, who avenged damaged children.  The woman they had hunted had not been a witch, just a woman whose Goddess protected children.  That had been the one time Anna had ever called David Rossi in his capacity as an FBI agent who hunted serial killers; and she was fairly positive her dad had first seen Anna’s passion for profiling when they had helped David.

“I’ll be on my way then,” Newberg began.

“Wait,” Anna said, closing the file.  “I wanted to ask about your bracelet.”

Newberg glanced at it, “What about it?”

“That crystal,” Anna stood up and moved closer, “that’s a Hannali symbol, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Newberg said warily, “how did you know?”

Anna smiled, “I study religions, it’s a hobby of mine.  Hannali, she’s the avenger of children right?”  She did not look, but she could practically feel the tension behind her as Hotch answered his cell phone.

“Yes she is, Agent,” Newberg trailed off.

“I’m Anna Campbell,” Anna said and offered her hand.

“Mary Newberg,” Newberg replied, taking Anna’s hand and shaking it firmly.

Anna smiled a little, “I was wondering if you knew someone named Matthew Johnson?”

“He’s an old friend,” Newberg said with a nervous laugh, “I was a cheerleader at Sam when he played football.”

“Then why would he have a restraining order filed against you,” Hotch asked suddenly.

“That was just a misunderstanding,” Newberg began, trying to free her hand from Anna’s grip.

“There’s also a police report,” Hotch continued, “something about trespassing, assault, and stalking?”

“Like I said,” Newberg said.

“A misunderstanding,” Anna replied with a slight smirk as she tugged the woman further into the room.

“We accounted for the whereabouts of your boss during the latest killings,” Gideon said, “you, however, have no such alibi.”

“You never asked for one,” Newberg said with a coy smile.

Anna threw back her head and laughed, “You’re seriously going to try,” she said then broke off into laughter again.  After a moment she calmed down, “I don’t think that’s going to work.”

Newberg’s expression turned downright murderous, “Russ,” she began to hiss.

Knowing she would pay for it, Anna smirked, “Sorry, Russell isn’t available right now, but if you want to get on with the delivery of your soul, I’m sure we’d all enjoy helping you get down stairs as soon as possible.”

If anything, the way the blood drained from Newberg’s face made the statement completely satisfying.

“Mary Newberg,” Hotch said, “you are under arrest for the murder of…”

Anna released Newberg as Hotch began to put the handcuffs on the now pliant woman, and she moved back.  A warm and familiar arm appeared on her shoulders and Anna glanced up as she leaned into Derek’s side.  “You still have a lot of explaining to do,” he murmured as they watched Newburg be hauled away.

“I’ll be happy to provide a demonstration,” Anna replied quietly.

“I look forward to it,” Derek replied, “after my holiday.”

“Holiday?”  Anna asked.

“My mother’s birthday,” Derek replied, “and my presence is commanded.”

“Great,” Anna said, “leave me to deal with the fall out of another abduction.”

“It’s not your fault,” Derek pointed out.

“Explain that to Strauss,” Anna replied dryly.  She had her suspicions about their section chief, seeing as Prentiss had also been assigned to the BAU suddenly and on her say-so.  The woman had something planned, Anna was sure of it, there were too many coincidences and actions taken only on Strauss’s orders, and it would take a deaf and blind person five minutes to realize that Strauss did not like or trust the lead BAU team.  It would take time to figure out the woman’s game, though, and Anna was not sure she would have that time if the FBI were sniffing out her brothers already.


	10. The More Things Change

By the time the case had been wrapped up and they were ready to go, Anna was exhausted. Still, she'd done the best she could for Matthew Johnson, and had made sure that Mary Newburg's case was as airtight as she could make it.

One small blessing in Anna's book was that Mary, once she'd seen that her 'Russell' wasn't going to answer her, she seemed to be accepting her fate. She wasn't speaking to anyone except for prayers to Hannali. The evidence was piling up, however, that Mary Newberg was the second 'daughter of Hannali' to cross the line from healing children to taking vengeance on their tormentors.

Hotch and Gideon were now talking about having Anna make a presentation about the daughters of Hannali and their actions to the BAU teams, and assorted other agents.

Matthew Johnson, on the other hand, was on his way to either an insanity case or a mistrial, depending on the jury and his attorney. He'd been covered in terms of the murders, but the fact that the shed and the hole where Anna and Derek had been held were just across the property line from his house was not promising on the assault and kidnapping charges.

In the end, however, Anna boarded the plane with a sigh of relief. At least, she was relieved until she found herself under the scrutiny of the entire team. She looked at each of them for a long moment, even Derek, then took a seat and buckled up.

The staring was barely enough to keep her from freaking out as the plane took off.

As soon as they were in the air, Anna focused on Reed, "Did someone dye my hair blue when I wasn't looking?"

"Um, no," Reed said.

"Rossi said he was impressed with your dad and brothers when you worked the first case," Hotch said as he began to shuffle a deck of cards. "It's part of what got him to write your recommendation to the Academy too."

Anna smiled a little, "I know, I never expected him to do that for me. But what's that got to do with anything?"

"I'm just curious," Hotch said, "you're an FBI agent on the premier BAU team. How on Earth did your brothers end up as a pair of bank robbers."

"WHAT?" Anna shouted.

**Author's Note:**

> This is part five of the Huntress stories. It takes place post "The Usual Suspects" for SPN and post "The Last Word" for CM. Thus, Emily Prentiss is now part of the BAU. Since I worked and rewrote the finale of Supernatural this season, I opted to gloss over the Criminal Minds season finale by claiming that Anna had been unreachable during the whole debacle. Also, if you go over to youtube and look up dragonheartink or "As The Children Suffer" you can see a vid I made for this story, but also note that until the third/fourth chapter goes up, it can be considered EXCEPTIONALLY SPOILERISH. As always, thanks "A Leanne Vast" for the Beta!


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